Benefit of the Drought
. Benefit of the Drought is the first episode of the Skipper and Skeeto animated television series. Plot It is a hot summer day in Paradise Park, and the animals are chilling out at Lappings Lake to cool down. Conrad and Ricky spy on the others through a bush, and Conrad expresses his disgust towards water. Fungy and Melvin have swimming races against each other, and Owen and Lizzie are relaxing on deckchairs. Ruben builds a a sandcastle with help from Molly, but Conrad scares him away and stamps on it. Skipper and Skeeto are water-skiing on the lake, and they splash Conrad and Ricky as they pass by. As the other animals laugh at him and Ricky, Conrad angrily storms off to think of a plan to get revenge on them, with Ricky coming along. While he and Ricky are strolling, Conrad vocalises his passion to stop the animals from having fun with water. They discover the stream which would fill Lappings Lake, and they climb up Midnight Crag to find its source: a spring. Conrad and Ricky block the spring by pushing a large boulder onto it, stopping the water from running down to Lappings Lake. Because they were distracted by Conrad and Ricky, Fungy and Melvin forgot who won their swimming race, so they decide to have another one. However, it is not until they dive onto solid ground they learn the lake has been drained. Skeeto can no longer tug Skipper on the water skis, and they look back at the lake and notice why. Molly has made some armbands for Ruben to wear so he can go swimming, but when Ruben sees the dry lake, he starts to cry. Owen gathers the animals round to discuss the issue. Believing the lake has dried up, he comes to the conclusion that Paradise Park is enduring a drought. The animals come up with different methods of finding water: Molly has invented a machine that seeks water, Lizzie would attempt to divine water with a twig, Skipper and Skeeto would follow the dry stream back to its source, and Ruben performs a rain dance. Molly drives her invention around the park to seek water, but all she can detect is a dripping tap. Skipper and Skeeto climb up Midnight Crag to find the spring clogged by the boulder Conrad and Ricky rolled onto it. Skipper cannot see any sign of water, but Lizzie arrives to the scene and foresees water under the rock with her dowsing twig. The three of them try to push the boulder to reveal the water underneath, but it is too heavy for them to shift. Skeeto comes up with an idea and whispers it to Skipper and Lizzie. They set off to get to it. Meanwhile, Conrad is at home, trying to nap but kept awake by Ricky's snoring. Skipper and Skeeto walk and stop right outside Conrad's house and loudly talk about Ruben supposedly having built 'the biggest sandcastle you've ever seen' on top of Midnight Crag. As they start to move on they comment on how mean it would be if someone was to knock it over. Conrad hears them yelling, and, delighted at the thought of spoiling Ruben's fun again, he proceeds to go on Midnight Crag and he eventually finds the 'sandcastle', which is actually disguising the rock underneath. Conrad is unaware that it is a decoy and kicks it, but he stubs his toe. As he hops around in pain, the sand runs off the boulder, and the boulder cracks and crumbles, and the spring is unblocked. Conrad steps on where the spring would be, and gets trapped on a fountain of water as the spring rises up. Skipper and Skeeto watch and laugh at him. The streams fill up again thus Lappings Lake is restored, much to the relief of the inhabitants of Paradise Park. They all return to their fun to cool down in the lake: Fungy and Melvin carry on with their swimming race, Ruben tests Molly's armbands, Skipper and Skeeto water-ski once again, but this time, Lizzie and Owen try out water-skiing as well. Conrad is still stuck on the spring fountain, and begs for someone to get him down. Characters *Skipper *Skeeto *Conrad Cat *Ricky Tricky *Molly Mouse *Owen Owl *Lizzie Bee *Ruben Rabbit *Melvin Duck *Fungy Frog Category:Episodes